


Under The Falling Stars

by afteriwake



Series: Formerly Of Z-Loan [3]
Category: Bleach, Zombie-Loan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-16
Updated: 2012-10-16
Packaged: 2017-11-16 10:36:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/538541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anything can happen under the falling stars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under The Falling Stars

He was troubled by the events a few weeks prior when he had carried her into her room because she fell asleep while they were talking. Not so much by what she had done, but by what he had done. He should have woken her up and escorted her to her room, left her at the room and taken his leave. Instead, he had pressed his lips to her forehead and she had touched his cheek. Caressed it, almost. But she was sleepy so it probably didn't mean more to her than that.

It meant a lot to him, though. Probably a whole lot more than it meant to her.

He was still confused about his exact feelings for her. No matter how he looked at it, he was much too old for her, being over a hundred years old and her being...much younger. That bothered him. He knew he probably shouldn't feel that way about her. And she still had so much to sort through, in terms of her new life and settling her old life to the past. There was still a lot he didn't understand and she wouldn't talk about.

First and foremost was the young man who had killed her when something (and he _still_ wasn't sure exactly what) had been done to him. From what he could gather, she had cared for him. Had a crush on him, not unlike the crush he had on her, he mused in a semi-bitter tone. He had had to be the one to tell her that Shito Tachibana was lost. As far as anyone could tell, when the events leading up to her death had happened his soul had been obliterated and the other soul had taken residence in his body. But he could tell from the reaction on her face when he'd told her that she still held hope. And to be brutally honest, he didn't blame her; had he been in her situation, he probably would have done the same.

She would talk about Z-Loan, and Michiru and Chika and the others. He was forbidden by Captain Commander to tell her anything more than that they were alive, but he had checked on them, just in case the ban was ever lifted. Michiru...she was a Singularity. He had heard of them, but never believed he'd ever live to see one in the flesh. But she was alive, and back to her old life. Chika as well, though with Shito's body dead there had to be some fancy dealing done on his behalf. As it stood, neither were in debt anymore; Bekko had gotten the money, paid off the debts of everyone at Z-Loan and shut the office down. Everyone was getting their happily ever after as 100% humans, it seemed.

All except Koyomi. She was dead, and here in Soul Society with him. She was adjusting, but he knew that deep down she probably wanted to be with her friends, living a normal life and not looking at an afterlife without them. But...he hoped that maybe one day she would see that she had him. That he might be important to her, to (at the very least) be as good a friend as they had been. Oh, he would like to be more, but he wasn't going to push, wasn't going to hint. He would simply wait. He was good at waiting, now.

As it was, she hadn't said anything about it, so he assumed she didn't even remember it. They had continued on as they had before that night, with her time filled up between training and helping him, and his time attending to his duties as a Captain. Captain...it had been years since he was given the title and it still didn't feel like a perfect fit. He doubted it ever would, and it would settle uneasily on him like his longing for a different relationship with Koyomi.

They still spent the evenings together, though when she would begin to shut her eyes more often, yawn a few more times in a row, he would suggest that they call it a night and he would do what he should have done that night: walk to the barracks, escort her to her room, bid a farewell and head back to his own quarters. He had done it for the last thirty days, and as frustrating as it was, he honestly believed it was for the best.

Tonight, though, _he_ was the one nodding off. There had been a meeting with Captain Commander and Captain Unohana, Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake, a strategy session. She was learning quickly, but they were debating many other aspects of her training, and then Captain Unohana had suggested someone tell her about her friends and Captain Commander had put his foot down about _that_ and it resulted in a stalemate between those who thought she should know (the four Captains) and those who thought she should not (Captain Commander). It had left him with a headache and a craving for a cup of sake, a craving he had not had in many years.

But she had looked at him with a warm smile and reminded him that there was supposed to be a meteor shower tonight, and he didn't want to tell her no to simply drown his day in cup after cup of sake. He didn't want to disappoint her. So he had walked with her to the hill. Others were out to watch the stars fall, but their spot was thankfully vacant. He had never had anyone else intrude on him there except his former Captain; in fact, Kaname Tousen had been the one to show him the spot. He had never taken anyone there, not even Rangiku, back when he was trying to figure out a way to impress her.

But Koyomi was special, and tonight was special, and he just couldn't will himself to stay awake after the stars first started to fall, despite his wishes to do so. He felt his eyes droop closed and his breathing even out and he simply fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep before he felt warmth to his side, and soft weight pressed against his side. He felt warm breath against his neck and an arm draped over his chest. He stirred awake slowly, and turned his head to the side, his nose now nestled in her hair. It was dark still, but it was not cold, so it must not have been too late. She was sleeping, or at least she was trying to. Why she hadn't just woken him up...he didn't understand. He shifted slightly, sitting up on his elbows as her arm fell to his waist and tightened its hold.

Maybe...could she...? No, no she couldn't possibly...no, it was not...she was probably trying to keep him warm until he woke up. That was a good reason. He sat up a little more and her arm dangled dangerously lower for a moment before she stirred, looking up at him with a smile on her lips. “I didn't think you'd wake up so quickly,” she said quietly.

“Were you just trying to keep me warm?” he asked.

She paused, and he felt his heart catch in his throat. The suspense was killing him. He had to know, had to know _right now_ if he had been correct or if his feelings stood any chance of being reciprocated. “No,” she said, blushing a bit as she said it.

“Oh,” he said quietly. He watched her sit up, dust herself off slightly and wrap her arms around herself. “I...so...” he began, and then stopped, running a hand through his hair. “I don't know what to say.”

Her blush deepened. “I'm sorry, Hisagi-san,” she said lowering her head. “I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry.”

“Don't be,” he said, placing his index finger under her chin and tilting her head up so she was looking at him. “I...didn't mind.”

“Oh,” she said, and even though it was dark he could tell she was blushing because heat radiated on his skin. He let his finger move up along her cheek, his other fingers joining it, until he was cupping her cheek in his hand. She shut her eyes and leaned into it, letting out a small sigh of contentment. He brushed his thumb across her lips and she opened her eyes and leaned forward as he did the same. The kiss was tentative, soft, little more than a light caress. But she slid her arms around his neck and he let her pull him closer and deepen the kiss, and only then did he begin to hold her close, kissing her as the stars fell above them, and all was right with his world.


End file.
